Declaration of the Continental Conference on the Abolition of the Death Penalty in Africa (the Cotonou Declaration)

Recalling the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights which guarantees the right to life, liberty and
security of person under Article 3;

Bearing in mind the provisions of the Constitutive Act of the African Union in
Article 3(h), which enshrines the objective of the African Union to promote and
protect human rights, and Article 4(o), which requires respect for the sanctity
of human life;

Recalling also that the
right to life is a fundamental human right guaranteed by Article 4 of the African
Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights which enshrines the absolute prohibition
of the arbitrary deprivation of life;

Further Recalling Article
6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Articles 6 and
37 (a) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Articles 5(1)(3) of the
African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, and Articles 4(1)(2)(j)
of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the
Rights of Women in Africa;

Recalling Resolution ACHPR/Res. 42(XXVI) 99: Resolution
Urging States to Envisage a Moratorium on the Death Penalty;

Further Recalling Resolution
ACHPR/Res.136 (XXXXIIII) 08: Resolution
Urging States to Observe a Moratorium on the Death Penalty;

Noting the “Study on the Question of the Death Penalty in
Africa” adopted by the Commission at its 50th Ordinary Session from
24 October to 7 November 2011 in Banjul, The Gambia;

Noting further
that Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
refers to abolition of the death penalty in terms that strongly suggest that
abolition is desirable;

Convinced that everyone’s
right to life is a basic value in a democratic society and that the abolition
of the death penalty is essential for the protection of this right and also for
the full recognition of the inherent dignity of all human beings;

Reaffirming
the commitment of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights to promote
the right to life and human dignity as fundamental rights;

Believing that abolition of
the death penalty contributes to enhancement of human dignity and progressive
realisation of human rights;

Convinced that all measures to
abolish the death penalty should be considered as progress in the enjoyment of
the right to life;

Wishing to strengthen the
protection of the right to life guaranteed by the African Charter on Human and Peoples’
Rights;

Considering
that the evolution that has occurred in several member States of the African
Union expresses a general tendency in favour of abolition of the death penalty,

Welcomingfurther the efforts of various sectors
of civil society at the national, regional and international levels to achieve
the abolition of the death penalty,

Determined to
urge African States to take the final step in order to abolish the death penalty
in all circumstances,

Guided by the purposes
and principles contained in the African and United Nations instruments;

Noting ongoing local and
national debates and regional initiatives on the death penalty, as well as the
readiness of an increasing number of African States to abolish capital
punishment;

The Continental Conference on the abolition
of the Death Penalty in Africa hereby:

1.Calls on the African Union
Member States to adopt the Additional Protocol to the African Charter on Human
and Peoples’ Rights on the Abolition of the Death Penalty in Africa.

2.Expresses its deep concern
about the continued application of the death penalty in a number of African
States;

3.Welcomes the steps taken
by a growing number of African States to reduce the number of offences for
which the death penalty may be imposed and the decision made by an increasing
number of States to apply a moratorium on executions, followed in many cases by
the abolition of the death penalty;

4.Deeply appreciates the
growing number of African States that have abolished the Death Penalty;

5.Calls upon African States
which have abolished the death penalty not to reintroduce it, and encourages them
to share their experience in this regard;

6.Calls upon African States
that have not yet done so to consider abolishing the death penalty statutorily
or constitutionally, and to consider acceding to or ratifying the Second
Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,
aiming at the abolition of the death penalty;

7.Further calls upon African States to vote in
favour of the proposed United Nations General Assembly Resolution to be adopted
this year calling for a universal moratorium on executions with a view to
abolish the death penalty.

8.Further invites civil
society organisations to remain seized with the matter of the death penalty
and, in particular, monitor scheduled executions and alert the African
Commission’s Working Group on the Death Penalty, and Extra-judicial, Summary or
Arbitrary Killings in Africa and the international community in a timely manner
where there is reason to believe that such an execution will occur;

9.Encourages Professional Groups to continue to conduct
research on issues related to the question of the death penalty;

10.Urges
National Human Rights Institutions to monitor, document and report on death
penalty and execution cases to the African Commissionon Human and Peoples’ Rights;

11.Encourages
National Human Rights Institutions, Civil Society, the Media and other
stakeholders to continue conducting advocacy and awareness raising on the
abolition of the Death Penalty in Africa.

12.Finally
calls on legislators in Africa to review their national laws and enact
legislation abolishing the death penalty and to support the ratification of the
Additional Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the
Abolition of the Death Penalty in Africa.